ozzicruiser

12 hours ago, jland said:

No Ponant Fan, delighted to hear your news. After months of emailing Ponant and putting up with answers from them that are downright lies I have an appointment with a solicitor on the 9th September. Your post will be used as evidence that when pushed Ponant will refund.

As for booking with them again, hell will freeze over first.

Jland sorry to read you still haven't received your refund. 

Have you tried Fair Trading and NCAT they will help you get your refund from Ponant Australia because they are in Sydney and your booking would be through the Sydney office. 

DSmith91, your cruise will not go ahead because no international flights are allowed into Australia. 

Hope it works out for you. 

Ponant has been a terrible company to deal with. 

I just wanted to let everyone know I finally got my refund of my deposit less 10%.

I cancelled my cruise in March and decided to cop the 10%  cancellation fee because I didn't want ponant to get anymore of my hard earned cash. 

One thing I will guarantee is I will NEVER touch Ponant again or any company that is affiliated to Mr Pinault. 

5 minutes ago, jland said:

What a mean spirited offer. Not even 125% to compensate for the lack of refunds. How does this company expect people to be loyal to their brand. My cruise in August will not be going, due to the Canadian Arctic being closed until October, but still no words from this company. If I end up with their useless FCC I will find a cruise for the exact amount as I will never give them one cent extra of my money. Trouble is they will probably be insolvent long before any of us get to use their useless FCC. 

 

 

jland,do you have to pay the balance? if you are still outside the 91days cancellation, why don't you cancel and cop the 10% penalty instead of giving this retched company more money. 

Jland, check with your credit card if you pay with credit card and ponant cancels the cruise will your  credit card refund your money if you dispute the transaction because ponant failed to supply the service that you paid for. 

Hi jland, my sentiments exactly, this was going to be my first cruise I've cancelled and I'll never risk booking ponant again. I have river cruises booked that are paid in full which I've also cancelled and they are refunding my money less cancellation fees which I'm OK with better than FCC which won't be worth the paper their written on if the company collapses. 

When is your cruise. 

27 minutes ago, samiam1 said:

 

The other possibility is no one will lend them money at a favorable rate; Carnival and RCL have lots of assets if they default on those loans and bonds.  France is in pretty bad shape right now, right up there with Spain and Italy

 

If a company can't find a lender at a favorable rate it's because they are  high risk. 

I'm glad I cancelled before paying the balance. If they collapse at least I've only lost my deposit which will still hurt my hip pocket. 

41 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

I have seen that letter before.  It was designed to be sent to any Ponant customer affected, no big secret.  You have obviously chosen to read into it what you already believe.  I interpret it the opposite way:  they are in good financial position and plan to stay that way by not hemorraghing cash refunds.  Coming out of this without a massive debt load is a good thing [debt was the main factor that sank Renaissance Cruises after 9/11].

Jazzbeau, good for you that you see it as a positive but in my view if a company can't refund me my money because they've already spent it, they're in financial trouble. 

44 minutes ago, jland said:

Thanks ozzicruiser for the update. I hate companies that refuse refunds. We are not giving them another $42000 with no hope of getting our money back. 120% FCC is not worth a cent if they go bankrupt. Ponant do not deserve to survive. They are giving new bookings better terms than us who booked their cruise two years ago. All we want is our final payment deferred. Plus this cruise is through the northwest passage, does Ponant still believe this is possible. It would be totally irresponsible to give this virus to the very small communities we would visit. Shame on them for not cancelling this cruise immediately

Today I cancelled b2b uniworld river cruises as I'm 120days from sailing. 

The penalty is hefty but better than their policy if they cancel. 

Holland America cancelled a cruise of mine and they are giving me a full refund plus compensation for the airfares. 

What have I learnt from all this. 

Never book a cruise with a small company. 

And on a big cruise ship I will be able to afford the penthouse

51 minutes ago, jland said:

Ozzicruiser, did the letter actually state Ponant are not in a good financial position? Makes me terrified of giving them any more money.

Here is an exert, they are choosing not to borrow money to pay refunds my interpretation is they are not in a good financial position because they don't have the money to refund our money. What have they done with our money. 

Really sorry to worry you jland. 

8 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Does this letter support your statement that 'they are not in a good financial position'?  If so, please post it here [redacted so they can't trace it back to your TA].  I would really like to see it.

I'm apprehensive to publish any of the letter because it was addressed personally to the TA and she forwarded it me in good faith. So it could get traced back to the TA. 

The other thread on cc is

Ponant suspends operations. 

17 minutes ago, jland said:

We have to pay for our cruise April 13th, $42000 or lose our deposit. Ponant will not defer payment date, I do not want a refund, just a delay. This would have been our first Ponant cruise. We will never book with them again. I do not trust them with any more of our money and as for a FCC it relies on Ponant remaining in business. With the crap way they have treated customers who have a current booking, I doubt strongly that they will.

My TA issued me a copy of a letter she received from ponant. They are not in a good financial position and will not borrow money like other cruise companies to give refunds. 

I have only paid a deposit and that's why I bit the bullet and cancelled my cruise. 

There is a facebook page and also another thread on cruise critic. 

Same sentiment as here. 

We all hate Ponant. 

I'm another unhappy ponant passenger. I've only paid a deposit but decided to cancel and cop the 10% penalty. 

I'm not prepared to pay the balance and have ponant hold around $30,000 of my hard earned money. 

I don't trust them and I will never book another ponant cruise. 

2 hours ago, MrRandal said:

 

I don't know what type of credit card protections you have in Australia, but I would contact your CC Company right away and dispute the entire amount you paid Ponant. Explain you are cancelling according to their their terms and they are refusing to refund your money for 90 days. Unless their terms state 90 days for a refund.

My cancelling is viewed as change of mind Credit card don't refund for change of mind they refund if I did not receive the service I paid for. 

In that case I would have to pay the balance and if ponant collapses then credit card will refund. I prefer to lose 10% not give ponant more money which would be around $30,000

59 minutes ago, samiam1 said:

 

You really think they will pay in 90 days?  Where will the money come from given they have no cash flow and only expenses?

That doesn't surprise me at all. 

Alarm bells set off when my TA forwarded a long winded letter from Ponant saying.... They have extended the balance to 30days before the cruise if the cruise is cancelled they will give me a FCC to use within 18mths...if I don't use it within 18mths ponant will then give me a refund..... Yeah sure they will have gone under by then and I will have blown the full amount. 

Well I've bitten the bullet and have decided to cancel my cruises. 

A loss of 10% is better than a FCC. 

But I have to wait 3 months to get my refund. Ponant you stink. 

14 hours ago, MrRandal said:

Ponant is displaying typical French arrogance in this matter. Pinault is basically saying "Let them eat cake". 

Let's boycott Ponant and spread the word of the treatment we are receiving and Pinault might join us in eating cake in a couple of years. 

15 minutes ago, DSmith91 said:

I'm watching this post closely.  We have paid our deposit for a cruise in Western Australia and due to pay the balance in May.  With Australia closing it's borders indefinitely, but possibly for six months I am reluctant to pay my balance without the reassurance that I will be refunded rather than a FCC.

Can they really get out of their T&C's which state that in event of the cruise cancellation by Ponant, one of our options is a full refund?

 

I'm in the same boat (pardon the pun) I don't t want to pay the balance if its going to be given as a FCC and not a refund better to lose the deposit. 

Ponant is a terrible company to give us this extra worry on top of everything else that is happening. 

I for one will NEVER book with them again. 

I have a b2b2b cruises booked of which I've only paid a deposit and have to weigh up do I forfeit the deposit because I don't fancy paying the balance and ponant holding onto my money and only giving me a FCC. 

36 minutes ago, Wendai said:

Earlier this week our cruise was formally cancelled and I was also offered a full credit and 20% discount valid for the next 18 months.  I sent a letter back quoting the relevant paragraphs in the T&C.  Today, I got this response:

"We are not offering any refunds.

As a French-flagged company, our Terms & Conditions are governed by French law, which was just changed to allow travel companies to offer a 100% future cruise credit for 12 months instead of a refund.  However, in an effort of good faith, we are offering a 120% future cruise credit which can be used over a longer period, up to 18 months.  Our decision to offer a future cruise credit, rather than a refund also supports our staff, both onboard and ashore during this crisis, while keeping our industry growing and our guests interested in travelling in the future.  We know a number of cruise lines are choosing to take loans and credit lines in order to pay refunds, which is a decision they make independently.  We have made a conscious choice not to borrow money and to ensure the longevity of our company. PONANT’s shareholder Francois Pinault, who also owns Kering and its portfolio of luxury brands, remains in strong financial standing and is committed to the long term, for our business. To reassure you please see a link below profiling our shareholder. While M. Pinault needs no introduction, the link here from Forbes is most helpful in understanding our level of commitment of resources for the longer term.

https://www.forbes.com/profile/francois-pinault/#75d0dc1c4d20"

 

Not happy.  The problem for me is this.  Firstly, I don't believe we will see the end of this virus stuff for many months, maybe a year.  Once that happens, what cruises will be available and where?  We already have a cruise booked and partly paid for (a charter from Ponant) which is happening in a year from now.  There are also other commitments for time and travel, leaving a scant little amount of time to use up this credit.  It is highly unlikely that we would be in a position to use the credit within the next 18 months.  Are there are legal types within our group that can suggest a course of action.

Ponant has blinkers on, they just don't see the bigger picture. If Mr Pinault is so wealthy and doesn't need to borrow money then he should give us a refund keep us all happy and we'll be return customers. 

Treating us the way they are currently guarantees we will never cruise Ponant again. 

Everyone email Ponant

reservations.aus@ponant.com

and express your dissatisfaction that they will not offer a full refund for cruises that they are cancelling.

I have already done so.

No insurance company is covering coronavirus because it's a pandemic.